The Secret Spirits
by TuiAndLa
Summary: Jinora- Daughter of the airbender/councilman Tenzin, and granddaughter of Avatar Aang. She's just a simple airbender that lives with her family at the air temple- or at least that's what she thinks. Jinora is contacted by the spirit world, and she finds out that she isn't exactly who she thinks she is - read and review please C: not good with summaries
1. Chapter 1

I always wondered what it would be like. To just escape. To leave behind all worries and pain. To know nothing but bliss. And live in another realm that knows no evil.

It would be paradise.

As I lay here on the soft, green grass, I stare up at the stars. Wondering what it would be like to be as free as they are. To gaze upon what they have, and hold their power. To be enriched with their energy.

It astonishes me, because the cosmos know no boundaries.

I have always found myself in awe of how large the world is, and beyond that. Yet, sometimes I feel as if we are all connected. As if we are all one. But war and hatred quickly tear us apart. It's sad, really. But it is what keeps everything in balance. It is reality.

I hear the gentle pad of my mother's footsteps nearing me, and it snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Jinora, please come inside. The winds are picking up, I expect it will be storming soon. Dinner is ready."

I reluctantly stood up and followed my mom to the inside of the air temple to the dining room.

Today is a rather special day. It is the anniversary of the victory of my grandfather, Avatar Aang. On this day, many years ago, he defeated Fire Lord Ozai and brought peace to all of the nations, later founding our home, Republic City. My family has a tradition of celebrating this day every year.

I take in the smells of the cuisine from all four nations. This year we are having fire nation buns, bread, and watermelon juice, earth kingdom bean curd puffs and tea, watertribe seaweed noodles, and egg custard tart, a special air nomad dish, and a favorite of Aang's.

My father says a prayer and we quickly get to eating the delicious delicacies.

"Woo hoo! Food!" Ikki says as she quickly gets started on her seaweed noodles.

Bolin looked like he had never seen food before.

Meelo does the same and starts stuffing his face, while dropping food all over and around him.

I giggled at the sight of it and my mother just sighed.

"Meelo will you please at least try to get the food in your mouth instead of wearing it? It's a special occasion."

Meelo was too intent on the food to answer her.

My father stood, with a glass in hand, and spoke next..

"Now let's not forget what today is. It is a celebration of my father and your grandfather, honoring what he did for all four nations. Without his bravery, skill, and heart, there would be no United Republic. I know it is alarming to think about, but the whole world might be fire nation today if it weren't for him. So let us remember what a great person and avatar he was to his people, and never forget."

He raised his glass.

"To Avatar Aang."

The rest of us stood up and did the same.

"To Aang!" We all said, beaming.

"And to Korra, Aang's legacy," my mother said.

"To Korra!" We said again.

Korra blushed. "Thanks guys."

We all sat back down and enjoyed the rest of our meals.

Asami and I helped clean the dishes afterwards, Bolin was in charge of feeding Naga and Pabu, and Mako volunteered to clean up Meelo's mess, but didn't know what he was in for.

"How does such a little boy make such a big mess?" Mako said, almost in wonder.

"Oh, if you think that's bad, you haven't seen anything yet," I said half-jokingly, half serious.

"No kidding?" He said a little worried.

As soon as I finished cleaning and drying the last glass, I was off to brush Naga. With Korra being the avatar and all, she usually doesn't have time to brush Naga, which is why she entrusts me with it. Now that Naga is in a warmer climate than she is used to, she sheds a lot.

"Hey Bolin," I said as I walked over to Naga, who was furiously lapping up her water.

"Oh, hey, Jinora!" He called as he was feeding Pabu.

I started to brush Naga, but she was too fixated on her water to cooperate.

"Um, Bolin.. how long had it been since you gave her water?"

"Oh.. you know.. I kinda forgot to give her water yesterday..." his voice trailed off.

I shook my head.

"Bolin, you could damage her health by neglecting her like that. She needs water just as you do. What if you had to go without water because someone was too careless to remember to give you any?"

"Hey. Hey. I got, okay? It won't happen again.." with that said he walked out with Pabu.

"I'm sorry, Naga," I said softly, and patted her on her back.

* * *

After all the cleaning and brushing had been done, it was late and everyone was tired. The air temple quickly became silent, as it was past the usual time the air acolytes normally went to bed. I silently walked to my room, careful not to wake anyone that was already asleep. I got out of my clothes and threw on my favorite night gown. It was a comfortable satin fabric and the color was white with a hint of pink, creating a perfect pearl color.

I quickly jumped into my warm, inviting bed. A polar opposite from the freezing wooden floor beneath me.

My mind wondered for a while until I finally drifted off into a quiet slumber.

* * *

I was motionless, sitting atop a hill, when thunder boomed and lightning surged in networks of veins all around me. Wind rolled all around, but I was untouched and still. I tried to move, but couldn't, as if my nerves had been cut off from my brain. I felt paralyzed and terrified.

Suddenly, the world started spinning, all except for me and the hill. Strange hisses echoed throughout the dark purple sky and the hill disappeared. I fell into pure nothingness and regained control over my body.

As I continued to drop, I thrashed and tried to scream, but I made no sound. The only sounds were the sounds of air in my ear and my heart pounding in my chest. It seemed as if it would never end. It went on and on, every second of it brought more painful fear to my mind.

I stopped falling and slowly sunk into a clear, gel-like substance. I saw laurel trees and variations of plant life growing all around me. Sunlight shone on them and they grew under the warmth of its rays. As quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. A claw ripped through the middle of the landscape and tore the vision in half as it dissolved into nothing.

The gel had dissolved with it and left me on where the ground should have been, covered in it.

I was surrounded by darkness.

I slowly stood up, shaking and cautious of what would happen next.

A black and white figure appeared in the distance.

Realizing it was charging toward me, I took off running in the opposite direction.

It was too fast, and I knew it would catch up, so I had to try something different.

It let out a terrible, high pitched cry as I watched it continue to charge toward me.

As it came closer, I got a better look at it. It was huge, with razor sharp teeth that gnashed as it neared.

When it got into close enough reach, I had to act fast. I quickly went through the fast motions of the most destructive air bending move I knew.

Nothing happened.

I tried again. Nothing.

What happened to my airbending?

I panicked as it got closer, and there was nothing I could do but wait for it to catch up with me. As it came charging at me, I could hear the desperate growls. The low growls that made every inch of my body shudder.

Then, it came into contact. It knocked me down and its teeth towered over me, then plunged down.

* * *

I screamed the loudest, most horrified scream I had ever thought anyone capable of doing, with tears streaming down my face.

As my vision cleared, I realized that I was in my room, sitting in my bed.

Relief flowed through my body as I realized it had only been a nightmare.

I heard movement and knew that I had woken many people up. Fast, heavy footsteps neared my room and my sister along with some other air acolytes burst into my room.

"Are you okay?" One of them called out. They all looked worried, but comforted when they saw me.

"Yes, I'm fine. It was a only a terrible nightmare. I am so sorry for waking you all up."

Ikki ran up to me, wide eyed and alert. "You scared me! I've never heard anyone scream so loud!"

"I.. I'm really sorry Ikki," I said. My breathing was fast.

One of the acolytes stepped closer to me and the rest, including Ikki, filed out of my room.

It was Tao, a middle aged more spiritual air acolyte. She had honey brown hair that reached her waist, though normally put up into a bun.

"Just get some rest, there's no need to be sorry about it. We all get bad dreams at times."

"It was just so horrible. In it, there was some sort of a black and white monster hunting me. And I tried to protect myself with airbending, but I couldn't airbend."

Her eyes widened and her feet shifted.

"Well, it's alright now," she assured me.

"Just don't think about it and go back to sleep."

I did just that.

* * *

The next day went by as it usually does. I had finished my chores and airbending practice, and was walking over to the courtyard to meditate, when someone called my name.

Turning to see who it was, I spotted Tao walking toward me.

"Hello, Tao," I said curtly, with surprise.

"Greetings, Jinora. Is everything going alright today?"

"Yes, why wouldn't everything be alright? It was just a nightmare last night, after all."

"Of course." She smiled. "Would you mind joining me for tea?"

Though it was unusual, I accepted her offer, because declining would have seemed rude.

We went inside to the dining hall, which was busy.

She gestured for me to sit with her at a table near far end of the room.

"Excuse me if it seems rude to ask, but why did you invite me for tea? We hardly ever talk. Did I do something wrong?"

She let out a small laugh and poured me a cup of jasmine tea. "Oh no, you've done nothing wrong. Don't worry. I just thought we could talk about that nightmare last night. I am an expert in interpreting dreams, after all, and thought you might want to know what it meant."

I pressed my lips together. It was only a bad dream, she said so herself. So why does it seem like she's trying to get at something?

"Sure."

She smiled. "Excellent!"

After taking a sip of her tea, she began again. "The black and white monster you saw, do you remember anything about how it acted?"

"I remember that it acted desperate to get to me, and that it was angry at me. But I don't know why..." my voice trailed off. "Oh, and I also remember that it had huge, razor snap teeth, and it screamed so shrill."

"Hmm." Tao looked deep in thought as her eyes shifted from side to side, hands under her chin. "And you couldn't airbend?"

"Not the slightest bit."

"Do you remember anything about your appearance in your dream?" Now she was pressing me.

I raised a questionable eyebrow. "I looked the same."

"Oh.. I see. Anything else about your dream that you think was out of the ordinary?"

"Well, _everything_ was out of the ordinary. But I do remember watching plants grow all around me, as if in a time lapse."

"That's very interesting. I will have to have some time to decipher what all of this means." Without asking, she picked up my tea cup and stared into it.

She looked sick.

"Please excuse me."

Tao quickly dropped the cup and unsteadily got up and exited the room, leaving me alone at the table except for the tea.

I narrowed my eyes. "Well, that was weird."

My father walked in and scopes the room, until his gaze fell on me.

"Oh, there you are." He looked relieved.

His hand rubbed down his face and he met me at the table.

"Where were you? You told me you were going to meditate."

He sat down where Tao had been.

"I'm sorry, Dad. Tao invited me to have tea with h-" I was cut off.

"Jinora, I thought I had told you this before. Tao is a little.. different. You shouldn't be around her too much."

"I know," I said flatly. "She asked me to join her and I didn't want to be rude. She kept asking me about a nightmare I had last night."

He shook his head. "She's always asking about people's dreams. Like she's looking for something."

He stood up and I followed him out.

"Your mother wants help with cooking the rice for tonight. You should probably go find her. I have a brief council meeting to attend."

I sighed, but obeyed. "Yes, father."

* * *

_'Like she's looking for something.'_

_Whatever she's looking for, I don't have it._


	2. Chapter 2

I was standing on a mountain, which was lifeless and gray. I trecked up the dull mountain until I reached its peak. It was bitterly cold and frostbite threatened me. I ran to the edge and looked down on the opposite side of the mountain I came up. Before me there was a beautiful vista, stretching far and wide. There were crystal clear ponds with lightly shaded green lily pads, gorgeous meadows of fire and panda lillies, and rows of perfect cherry blossom trees.

I reached behind me and pulled my glider off of my back. I opened it as I raised it over my head and kicked off of the mountain peak.

When I landed, I was instantly engulfed in the warmth of the sun. I lay my glider on the soft, green grass and observe the surreal beauty around me.

"It's amazing," I breathed to myself.

With happiness swelling inside me, I ran though the beautiful flowers.

I placed a panda lily in my hair and danced over to the large pond. There were hundreds of koi fish, all healthy and glowing. Smooth, small waves lapped at my feet as they gently swam and mingled between each other.

I crouched down and dipped my fingers into the water. It was warm and inviting. I stood up and waded knee deep into the calm water. The koi tickled my feet and I giggled with joy.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was strong and the grip was tight.

"It's perfect isn't it?" The voice was feminine.

I didn't look back. I didn't feel the need to.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter where, Jinora. All you need to worry about is how to get out of here." The voice turned urgent.

"Why? This place is-"

"This place is not what it seems. It is dangerous, and you must go." The voice now sounded as if on the verge of pleading.

I turned around to face her, but as I did, the hand left my shoulder and no one was there, except the silhouette of the black and white monster that had plagued my previous dreams.

* * *

I woke up to Ikki banging on my door.

"JIIIINOOORRRAAA!"

I heard the door open and Ikki's light steps coming toward me.

"I'm awake, Ikki." I opened one eye to look at her.

"You overslept! Bolin said that if you don't eat your breakfast, he will," She said in her swift voice, and quickly exited the room.

I got out of bed with no trouble. I was well rested and woke up with a positive attitude.

After washing up and changing into my clothes, I headed to the dining room for breakfast.

No one was there except for my mother who was cradling my newborn brother, Rohan. She was humming something and her eyes were fixed on him. He has piercing green eyes, though I have no clue who he gets them from. Gran Gran said that he would be a strong airbender. I hope he's a waterbender, personally. After all, it is a possibility.

"Morning," my mother said to me without taking her eyes off of him.

"Good morning."

I sat in silence(besides my moms humming) and enjoyed my breakfast of fruit before cleaning my dishes and walking to our music room.

It had always been one of my favorite rooms in the air temple. It has red walls with gold trim and gold dancing dragons all around the walls. The floor was the same, plain wood as the rest of the floors were.

I walked across the room to a wooden box with a topaz gem decorating the top of it, and slowly opened it. Inside was my dark cherry wood flute. I've been learning to play for a couple of months now and know a few songs by heart.

I chose an old blue chair next to an open window, and tucked my legs in. It had a beautiful view of republic city.

I began playing the smooth, wooden instrument when Ikki entered.

"Ohh! You're playing my favorite song?" She asked excitedly.

I nodded and continued playing, while she stood next to me and began to sway and sing on key with the notes of the flute.

_"Winter, spring, summer, and fall. Winter, spring, summer, and fall."_

Her voice is always like silk when she sings, and carries beautifully, despite her usual tone.

_"Four seasons, four loves. Four seasons, for love."_

She smiled and looked at me. "I wish I could play that good."

I smiled back at her, acknowledging the compliment. "Ikki, I don't think it matters how well you can play when you have a voice like that."

She looked pleased and her face turned more serious. "Oh yeah, I forgot! Dad sent me up here to tell you that we're starting airbending practice early today."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Probably because he has a council meeting later or something like that."

"Okay.." I sighed and placed my flute back in it's wooden box.

After airbending practice, I went to the garden to meditate. It was small, but it was a garden nevertheless.

We had never grown any vegetables or fruit in the garden, but instead grew numbers of rare plant species from vines to flowers.

I went through the white marble arch entrance and sat on the edge of a gray fountain in the center. Vines wrapped themselves up and down the fountain and small purple flowers began to bloom on them.

I got in my position with my legs crossed and tucked, then cleared my mind.

Only the sound of chirping birds went through my mind.

I was at peace.

Suddenly, visions and flashes of shades of blue entered my previously peaceful mind.

"_Jinora_..." a strange, hypnotic voice said.

"Jinora we need you." The voice trailed away, and the black and white monster from my nightmare a few nights before showed up. This time it looked calm, or at least as calm as the frightening monster could appear to be. It looked as if it was beckoning me to follow, but where? It had a strange glint of mystery in it's eye, which only made me curious about where it wanted to take me.

I opened my eyes, feeling dazed and confused.

_I have an imagination, that's for sure._

I heard the snaps of twigs and scuffle of leaves behind me, and heard footsteps coming towards me. I looked back to see Tao with a forced smile.

"Hello, Jinora." Something was off about her.

"Um.. Hello," I said in a questioning tone.

"Forgive me for leaving in such a rude way the other day. I was just overcome with a bit of shock."

Trying to fake interest, I kept the conversation going. "Shocked? Why were you shocked?"

She was fidgeting. "Well.. when I looked into your tea cup, I saw something that may shock you as well."

"Go on," I pushed.

She placed her hand on top of mine and looked into my eyes with concern. "I saw a bat and a claw."

"So?" I now felt like she was wasting my time.

"So, it means you better be careful about the company you keep. Keep an extra eye on your friends, Jinora."

"You're telling me you 'read' my tea?"

She nodded.

I shook my head and smiled out of annoyance. "I don't believe in that stuff."

"I'm warning you, Jinora." She was being fully serious.

"My dad is probably looking for me," I said quickly as I jumped off of the fountain and headed towards the temple.

* * *

"This looks great. Thanks for cooking, Pema," Asami said as she grabbed a roll.

Dinner was the same almost everyday. We eat, we share about our day, we laugh, and we tell stories.

Meelo had just finished telling Dad about a caterpillar he found in the earlier.

He spread his arms out and exclaimed, "It was_ this_ big!" Then, he went back to his food.

My father flatly, but amused said, "that's nice, Meelo."

He turned to me expectantly. I guess he wants me to tell about my day now.

I sat up straight and shrugged my shoulders. "It was just a regular day, I guess. Played my flute, did some airbending, help feed the animals, and read a little."

He nodded his head as if interested then turned toward Korra, who opened her mouth before I unintentionally interrupted. "Oh yeah!" I twisted my mouth as I tried to remember my encounter with Tao. "Today, while I was meditating in the garden, Tao went up to me worried and told me to 'be careful about the company I keep' or something like that." I rubbed my head and continued, "she said she 'read it in my tea'. She looked like she knew something, but she also seemed a little off today." I looked at my dad, awaiting a reply.

He shook his head. "I thought I told you to stay away from her. That woman is off everyday." He turned to my mother. "I don't like her poisoning my children's minds, Pema."

"Now, don't you think it's a little extreme to say that she's _poisoning_ their minds, dear?" She looked at him with a questionable expression.

He sighed and looked down at the table. "Maybe it is. I'm just worn out from work is all. I still say they shouldn't have much to do with her, though."

She nodded.

"Daddy, she approached me. I left when I could. I'm not very comfortable around her as it is, so you have nothing to worry about." After I assured him and was finished with dinner, I helped Asami do the dishes while my mother fed Rohan.

He's a happy baby, always giggling and smiling. Whenever there's an argument or dispute, he's the one to ease the tension.

After the dishes were done, Asami asked if I wanted to go on a walk around the island with her. I kindly declined and told her I had other things to do, so she took Ikki instead.

Now was the perfect time to figure out what my dreams and visions were about.

I went down the main hall, and up the stairs to the third floor, which housed a great library with a massive expansion of different genres of books.

But I wasn't looking for a good read, I was going to research. I was going to find out who or what the frightening black and white creature was.

I started looking in the education section.

_Tales of a Misfortunate Fortuneteller._

Not what I need.

_Water Whip and Other Great Bending Strategies._

Nope.

_The Spirit World: A Look From the Inside._

Perfect. If what I have been seeing is some kind of spirit, this is the book for me.

I grabbed the book and chose a worn red living chair next to the bookcase.

I opened it, and as I began reading, I discovered it was written by Avatar Aang himself.

There were many, many pages to look through and words to read, so I relied on the pictures. Flipping through the pages, I found what I was looking for. In the middle of the page was the same creature that kept wondering in my dreams. Over the picture was bold ink that I read to myself.

"_Hei Bai._." my voice trailed. I heard stories of Hei Bai before, about it's razor sharp teeth and destructive screams.

Why hadn't I put all of this together?

Under the picture was information about the beast.

I scanned through the words and found out that Hei Bai is an ancient, male spirit. He is protective and strong, and when angry, takes the form of a six legged destructive monster who is extremely fast and can produce sonic screams capable of demolishing whole buildings. When his anger has subsided, he takes the form of a giant panda, who can be friendly and helpful.

Next to the text was a small picture of a seemingly innocent panda.

I breathed out and said to myself, "I might need this." I tucked it under my arm and went back downstairs to my room and put the book on my nightstand.

Ikki waltzed in with no warning and noticed it . "Ooh, what's that?" She asked, peering closer.

"A book." I said flatly.

"Oh, a _book_. For _reading_." She lost interest and danced back out of my room.

I pulled off my day clothes and threw on my night gown. With one final glance at the book, I laid down and drifted into a peaceful slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

I found myself yet again in another strange dream. The sky was blue from the moonlight and the air was cool. I was standing in front of the marble arch into the garden. Bamboo grew up the sides and a blue tranluscent bird perched on top of it. It stared at me, then circled me as I stood there. It flew towards the arch and went through the middle. A white flash and it was gone. It wasn't on the other side, as if the arch was some kind of portal. Curious, I stepped forward and cautiously moved my hand through the middle of the arch. A blue and white glow circled around my wrist, and I didn't see my hand on the other side. Now even more curious than before, I walked through the archway.

It was breathtaking. In front of me was a world I could have never imagined. Everything seemed perfect and in place.

I was standing by a swift moving white river. I leaned over to touch the water. It felt icy, and the water glistened as it fell from my fingertips. It was obvious that I couldn't cross the river, so I turned around and started exploring through a small forest behind me. The leaves were dying and turning all shades of brown.

_Is it autumn here?_

I looked around, puzzled by the brown leaves.

_No, they wouldn't all be turning brown if it were._

I considered that it could be winter before I noticed crunching under my feet and realized that the grass was dying too.

The further I got into the dark forest, the damper the air got, and the much more dead it felt around me. The tree trunks were a lifeless gray, and dead flowers lay decaying on the ground. There were no signs of life anywhere.

I turned around, hoping that I hadn't gone too far to find my way back, but my fear became a reality. I was in the middle of a lifeless, dead forest. Alone, with nothing to keep me warm from the cool winds except my thin nightgown.

I began to run in hopes of finding a way out, but tripped on a tree root, sending me rolling down a hill. I tried to airbend, but I couldn't. Something was blocking it. It felt more like a mountain than a hill as I rolled down, twigs and fallen branches tore at my skin and my nightgown, and then, I came to abrupt stop and felt a searing pain at the back of my head. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I lay on the cold ground, covered in dirt.

Every part of my body throbbed in pain. I felt something soft and warm tugging on the back of my gown and dragging me through the leaves, then darkness washed over me.

* * *

I woke up to a gentle breeze across my face. I opened my eyes to discover that my window was open.

_Who opened my window?_

I got up to close it, but stopped when an aching pain tore through my body.

_Why am I so sore?_

I tried to recall events that took place yesterday that might have led to this.

_Airbending drills? No, that cant be it. I wouldn't be so sore from that._

I looked down to see that my nightgown had been tattered, and was covered in dirt. Despite my pain, I ran over to my mirror.

My face was dirty, along with the rest of me. My hair was tangled and messy, and I had bruises and small cuts on my legs and arms. I found a long, deep scratch up and down my neck.

I brought my fingers up to touch it and winced at the pain.

I considered that I had been sleepwalking, but quickly did away with the thought because I am a very light sleeper.

Then, I remembered.

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, my heart skipped a beat and my eyes widened.

My dream.

_Maybe it wasn't a dream?_ What if somehow that all really happened? It was the only possible explanation. My wounds were proof that it did.

I shook my head, trying to clear it, and backed away from the mirror.

The icy river, the dead forest, and the fall down the massive hill were all real.

How did I get back here? I remembered something dragging me before I blacked out. Maybe it brought me back here?

* * *

After I had regained my composure and washed up, I pulled on my day clothes and made sure to pull the collar over my wound. I don't need anyone asking about it, because when I answered them, they would think I was crazy. A small scratch showed on my hand and my mother asked about it at the breakfast table, but I told her it was just a paper cut, because what else could I say? Certainly not 'last night I went through a magic portal that led me to a dead forest, were I got lost and tripped and fell and blacked out, and then something dragged me back to my bed.' She would have thought I was ill.

I went to where Naga stays and dumped a pail of feed in front of her. She thanked me by knocking me down and licking my face.

"Ow!" Pain surged through me.

Naga looked up at me, and thinking she caused me pain, tucked her head under her large paws and whimpered.

I got up and patted her and kissed her on the head.

"It's not your fault, Naga."

I walked to the courtyard and grabbed my glider. With a running start, I jumped off of the concrete and flew over the air temple. It had been a while since I took flight around the island. It always exhilerates and refreshes me in ways I can't explain. Feeling the wind around me made me forget what has happened through the course of the past few days, and put an ease on my physical pain.

I looked down and saw my dad staring at me from below, along with Ikki and Meelo. Time for practice. I spiraled downwards and gently stopped on the ground.

"Daddy, what are we doing today?" Ikki asked.

"Today you will be doing the drills."

Ikki groaned. "But we did the drills yesterday! Can't we do something different?"

"You and Meelo aren't yet ready to move on, Ikki. Jinora is the most advanced out of all of you, so she will begin." He looked at me expectantly.

_Oh no. Will I be able to pull this off?_

I tried to not think about my soreness and ran to the center of the courtyard. I kicked in the air with my right leg, my left on the ground, and turned while bringing my leg down, releasing a powerful wave of air as I bent my body backwards into an arched position. I kicked off of the ground and stood on the palms of my hands as I pushed up from the ground and twisted in the air, yet again releasing waves, and landed smoothly on my feet.

My father clapped. "Very good. You're next, Ikki."

* * *

After the drills, I went up to my room and grabbed the spirit book. I opened it and jumped onto my bed. I turned to a section about spirit world portals, where I found out that there are few known portals, but some spirits have the ability to create temporary portals to go in and out of the spirit world.

One of them was Hei Bai. It said that Hei Bai had the ability to grow bamboo and use it as a portal.

I recalled the bamboo around the arch that wasn't there before.

_Could it have been him?_

There was no other explanation.

I have to find out what is going on, and why I have been contacted.

* * *

I decided to go out to the garden at midnight. By now everyone in the air temple should be asleep.

I threw on a dark blue dress that I almost never wear, so that if anything happened to it, no one would notice. I took the small bun out of my hair and, glided in hand, quietly slipped out of my room and out of the temple. My thin cloth shoes were silent against the rock paths that lead to the garden.

The closer I got, the more anxious I got. When I reached the entrance, the bamboo had already crept up the sides of the arch. I breathed in deeply and back out, then I shut my eyes tight ran through the middle.

Opening my eyes, I saw that it was the same as it had been last night.

I reached down touched the water. It was colder than it was before. Beyond the river was a green, healthy forest. I could see sunlight pouring over the lush trees. It's a polar opposite to the forest behind me, which is lifeless and dull.

I breathed in and out again, and headed into the dead forest. It had the same eerie feel to it as it did the day before. I went deeper and deeper into the forest, not sure what I was looking for. I came upon a large cave, and naturally, curiosity overcame me.

I ran over to the cave and peered in. I saw a green light in the center. Cautiously walking to where it was coming from, I found a stone and a green gem resting on it, with a silver chain through the top of it.

A necklace.

I set my glider on the ground and picked it up, placing it in the palm of my hand to get a closer look at it. It was beautiful. It was carefully and perfectly crafted into an oval shape, and about the size of both of my thumbs.

I looked over at the stone and saw a small note.

_From a friend._

A friend?

I eyed it suspiciously before clasping it around my neck.

A small jolt went through my heart, but I thought noting of it and walked further into the cave. As I went deeper, I started to see sunlight from a small entrance along the wall. Happy to see sunlight again, I ran through the hole and came to the same mountain I was on in one of my previous dreams.

I opened my glider and jumped off of the mountain. I landed on the same familiar soft, green grass and walked towards the large, koi filled pond.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw a lady with long, gorgeous, white hair sitting on a large stone feeding the fish.

"Hello." I recognized her soft voice. She was the one who was with me at the pond before, and urged me to leave.

Just as I was about to greet her, she spoke again.

"I see you have found the necklace." Her voice was so gentle, it almost sounded solemn.

"Are you the one that put the necklace there?" I asked.

"No." Her voice trailed.

"Then.. who did?"

"I do not think that is important now. What is important is the fact that you put it on, Jinora."

"What do you mean? And how do you know my name?"

"When you put that necklace on, you sealed a bond with it. You gave the necklace power, and in return it gave you power," she answered and ignored my other question. She looked at me with serious, blue eyes.

"What kind of power?" I looked down and touched it with my fingertips.

"I don't think you would yet understand." She looked down at the pond. "The necklace holds dangerous power and energy.. and now, so do you." She looked back up at me.

"You said that I gave it power, what exactly did I give it?"

"You gave it life. When you put it on, it binded with your soul. Without a soul to bind with, it is lifeless." She sighed. "The necklace can either be a blessing or a curse."

I was confused and felt conflicted at this point. "What if I don't want power..?"

"You cannot back out of it. What is done, is done." Her tone was serious.

"But- can't you at least tell me what kind of 'power' I now have?"

"I told you, I don't think you would yet understand."

I was now becoming angry. I clentched my fist and swiftly brought it up, and then back down. I yelled, "And why exactly wouldn't I? I think I deserve to know!"

She looked at me, alarmed. "Jinora! Calm-"

"I will not calm down! How do you know I wouldn't I understand? You're keeping me in the dark about _myself_!" The anger that had arised was now turning to fury. "You can't just tell me that I have some special power, and then not tell me what it is!"

The healthy fish that were previously swimming around rose to the top of the water. The pond turned gray.

She turned her head and closed her eyes as I brought my hands up to my mouth. I realized what had just happened. Tears welled in my eyes. "Did I do that?" I whispered.

The lady slowly stood. "You are more powerful than you think." She started to walk off as she spoke. "He tried to warn you not to come here..." Her voice faded in the distance.

"Wait!" I called after her. "Can you at least tell me how to control it?" But she was already gone.

I dropped to my knees and closed my eyes as my head hung.

_I never wanted this. I have to go home._

When I opened my eyes, I was back at the garden arch.

_What just happened?_

Without questioning any further, I ran to my room and threw the necklace into my middle dresser drawer. I didn't want to look at it.

I put on my nightgown and climbed into bed.

Hopefully, this was all just a bad dream.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, my mind swam with confused thoughts.

I didn't know what to think of all that had happened yesterday. How did my normal life turn into this? I don't know how to control the abilities that I have aquired, let alone exactly know what the are. I don't even fully understand how I got them, and the last thing I want to do is go back into the spirit world asking questions that I may not get answers to.

I couldn't get her blue stare out of my mind. Her gaze appeared hollow and her eyes blank, as if something was worrying her. Did it really bother her that much that I wore the necklace? After all, it was just a necklace, right?

No. It wasn't just a necklace. I saw what I did.

_'He tried to warn you..'_

Who tried to warn me about what? I thought back on everyone I had talked to the past few days. My father warned me about Tao, but that was irrelevant. I thought about it for a while longer, and then it struck me.

_Hei Bai!_

Was he trying to warn me? If he was, he sure had a weird way of doing it. I couldn't see how frightening me was going to warn me about anything.

I breathed out. I was in the study, supposed to be working on my calligraphy. Normally I was fairly good at it, but I was much too distracted today. My hand was shaky and my posture was slouched.

My teacher's voice sounded from behind me. "Jinora, what's wrong? You aren't yourself today." He was a tall, deep voiced man with rough skin gray hair. A small beard hung from his chin. His hazel eyes told me he had seen many things, good and bad. He was a well traveled and experienced man.

I looked up at him. "Sorry, Master. I'm just distracted."

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes worried. "What is it Jinora?"

"I.. I don't really want to talk about it.." my voice trailed.

"It's never good to keep things bottled up inside. If you ever want to talk about it, you know you can come to me."

He was always kind and gentle, yet strong and encouraging. He was almost like a second father to me.

"Thank you, Master."

Realizing it was time to be leaving, I stood from where I was sitting and bowed to him. Then, I decided to pay my mother a visit in the nursery.

It's walls were a dark cream color with patches of light green bamboo across the wall. This room was also my nursery, as well as Ikki's and Meelo's. It has always had a settle atmosphere to it. My mother had lulled us all to sleep with her sweet voice in this room, in the dark, wooden rocking chair next to the window that overlooked the island, and now it's Rohan's turn.

I knocked on the halfway opened door, then silently walked in when I saw him sleeping in my mother's arms. He looked so peaceful and gentle as he dozed. Every few seconds either his foot or his nose would twitch. I looker over at my mother who beckoned me to sit by her on the unused ottoman in front of her. She brushed his face with a light touch of her fingers, then looked up at me, expecting me to speak.

I hesitated, then spoke. "Mom, do you know anything about Hei Bai?"

She didn't look shocked, but a little surprised. "Hei Bai? You're talking about that spirit aren't you?"

I nodded my head slowly and intently.

She looked as if she was trying to remember. "No, not really. I mean, I know what everyone else does. Probably not even that much." She chuckled to herself. "All I know is that Hei Bai is incredibly powerful and can take the form of either a six legged monster or a giant panda."

"Oh, okay." Turns out I know more than she does.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," I said and flashed her a soft smile before walking back out into the hallway.

I shut the door and started walking down the hall when I felt a sharp pain pierce my heart. I leaned over and pushed on my chest, exhaling quickly. It felt like it came from the inside. It felt like sonething was clawing me from the inside. It was getting more unbearable by the minute, and I decided I couldn't stand out in the hall like this for everyone to see. Struggling, I half ran down the hall made it to my room. With shaking hands, I tried to softly close the door, but it slammed under my grip. I fell to the floor, my whole body shaking and feeling the desperate need for something, but I didn't know what. I felt like my heart was, in it's own way, suffocating.

_What is happening?_

I put a hand over my face and clentched my shirt over my chest and pulled at it, as if it would somehow make the pain go away. Tears spilled down my cheeks and I felt as I could combust at any moment now.

_Why is this happening? What have I done to have this happen?_

I froze for several seconds when I remembered. My gaze blankly set ahead of me, looking in between my fingers.

The necklace.

Without thinking, I scrambled to my dresser and violently pulled the drawer open. There it was, green and glowing. Surely it was the cause of this terror. I clasped it around my neck and drew in a deep breath. Instantly, the pain went away. It seemed like this was the necklace's way of making sure I didn't take it off. It had won, for now at least.

I slumped down on the floor. Sun beamed through my window. I closed my eyes and tears continued to fall.

_Why has all of this happened? Why me?_

My eyes flashed open. "Why me!" I yelled, with emotions mixed between sad and angry. It seems that my temper becomes shorter when I wear the necklace. It had to be the product of swelling with so much energy. "If I had just left the necklace alone.. everything would be fine. Everything would be normal." My tone was somber. If anyone heard me they would probably think I had gone mad. Perhaps I was going mad. I was starting to believe that myself.

The sun that was shining in my eyes before had been blocked.

I looked up to see a giant panda standing outside with his head in the window.

My voice trembled. "H-Hei Bai?"

_It couldn't be.. could it?_

I got a playful growl in return and cautiously walked over to the beautiful animal. To make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I reached out and touched his fur. It was soft and warm, unlike any fur I could have ever imagined. His scent was unforgettably strong and sweet. His eyes were black pearls of love and worry. He was obviously a creature of gentle nature, so why had he seemed so scary? Maybe he was trying to warn me about something, afterall.

He turned to leave, but stopped and lay down on the grass. When a few moments passed, he looked back at me and shook his back from side to side.

_What is he doing?_

Maybe he wants me to follow? I jumped through the window and walked to his side. He didn't move, so I just stood there for a few moments before he lightly knocked me over onto his back with his head.

"Oh! You.. want me to ride on your back?" I felt foolish and gathered mysef into a sitting position on the spirits back.

_What was I doing?_

He took off into a swift run, and caught me off guard. I fell against the top of his large head and swung my arms around its neck. No one seemed to notice the panda running through the grounds. No one was even outside.

_That's strange._

Hei Bai slowed at the garden and bamboo grew around us. Then, we were at the same river I had been at twice before. He turned to the dead forest, which was looking much worse, and trudged through the decaying plants. We reached the cave, and went beyond to the peak of the mountain. With a blue streak trailing behind us, he zipped over to a large meadow rich with panda lillies. He lowered himself and I slid off of his back. The lady in white was crouched down in the flowers.

"Hello, Jinora." Her voice was softer than I had ever heard it.

"Hello," I said being friendly, trying not to let the anger of our last encounter get the best of me. I dropped to my knees and sat with my legs under me.

She looked at me with the same solemn blue pools I saw before. "I am sorry for not telling you what you had desired last time you were here. I realize I was wrong now. I should have told you everything right away. Though, I am not sure how you will take it."

She spoke in a way that made me feel sorry for losing my temper. "The first thing I want to know is, who are you?"

She looked me in the eyes. "I am Yue, the Moon Spirit."

My eyes shone with awe and wonder. "I've heard so much about you!" In a time like this, I was surprised I could be so excited.

She faintly smiled. "Many have. My tale is a tragic one. Sometimes one cannot choose their own fate."

I twisted my lips. "That isn't at all fair."

"Actually, it is. I paid back a debt that I owed the former moon spirit." Her smile faded and her face turned more serious. "You know that the necklace gives you power, and by now I expect you have learned that you cannot take the necklace off."

I slowly nodded.

She let out a small breath. "It's time I had told you of _your_ fate, Jinora."

My face suddenly fell worried.

"In time, the necklace will fade away. It becomes a part of you more and more as each day goes on. You can try and resist the power of it, but you will only fail. You cannot push yourself away." She inhaled deeply and continued. "Jinora.. you aren't normal."

I cocked an eyebrow. "I think I would know that from the dreams I have been having, from the journeys into the spirit world, and from a panda waiting for me at my bedroom window." I tried to lighten the mood, but failed.

She shook her head. "That's isn't even close to what I am about to tell you."

I leaned in closer to her.

"There aren't many like you. Being born into the natural world, you've always felt attachment to it. It's your home. But there comes a time when everyone must leave home." She looked to the side and gently twisted the stem of a panda lily between her slender fingers. "I'm sure you have noticed your superior intelligence among others of your age, and your sense of understanding despite your youth. You taking the necklace and creating the bond wasn't a mere coincidence. It was always meant to be.." her voice trailed and she dropped the flower. Her head hung for a few seconds, then she brought it back up, but still didn't look me in the eyes.

"Before you were ever born, the spirits knew the exact day you would enter this world. They knew who you were before your mother had ever met your father, and they knew you would end up pay us a visit.. and eventually.. stay."

My eyes widened. "W-what do you mean 'stay'? I don't want to leave my family!"

Now she was looking directly at me.

"Jinora, I said that there comes a time when everyone must leave home.. but this is where you belong. Where you live now is merely a temporary home. You belong here, with your people."

I was too confused and her gaze was calm and steady, and almost looked haunting. She lifted my chin a few inches from her face, and held it there before speaking.

"Jinora, you are a spirit."


	5. Chapter 5

_"No! That's preposterous!"_ I was breathing heavily. "That's not true!"

She still looked calm despite my yelling, as if she expected this kind of reaction from me.

"I'm afraid it is." I knew from the look on her face that she wasn't lying, but could she have possibly made some kind of mistake?

"Well.. could you have me mixed up with someone else, maybe?" I almost sounded scared. Perhaps I was.

"I'm sorry, but no. I didn't want to be the one to tell you, Jinora, but I knew that I had to tell you sometime, before you discovered who you were on your own."

I fell forward, my palms against the damp grass and faced the ground. "This is impossible.." I said to myself. "Spirits can't be born human, can they?" I realized what I had just said. Here I was, talking to a spirit who was formerly human. "I-I mean, except for you, right?" I raised my head.

"It's quite possible for someone like you. Someone who was born a spirit." It was uncommon for her to break eye contact. She kept her gaze fixed on mine.

I lifted my hands up from the earth and sat again with my legs folded beneath me.

"But how.." my voice faded.

"How did you come to be a spirit? Even with human parents?"

I nodded.

"Like I said, the spirits knew who you were before you were even born, so you were always a spirit yourself. I know I am probably not fully answering your question, but that is the best answer I can give right now." She smiled faintly and slightly tilted her head. "Are you not wondering what_ kind_ of spirit you are?"

I didn't even think about what kind of spirit I may be.

As if I answered her, she continued. "You are a guardian."

"A _guardian_? I've never heard of such a spirit." I didn't recall the spirit book saying anything about them.

"Mortals do not know of their existence. Guardians have the important responsibility of keeping the spirit world in balance with the mortal word. They watch for any spiritual imbalance and do everything in their power to fix whatever problems it may be creating, and find the source of the imbalance. They are the protectors of the two worlds."

"But what about the avatar? The avatar is the bridge between them, right? So why is there a need for Guardians?" I found myself almost interested in all of this.

"They are needed for entirely different things. Besides, the avatar simply does not have the time to watch over them like the Guardians do. The avatar is the bridge, whereas you are a protector, along with the rest of the guardians."

I was beginning to understand, and nodded, though I did not fully accept being a spirit. It was still too surreal.

"I have been assigned as your mentor, Jinora. Every new guardian needs one. Eventually, you will be off on your own, but for now, I'm going to be with you through this, and help you to accept who you are while training you."

"Shouldn't another guardian be mentoring me?" I didn't see why the moon spirit was assigned to me.

"Guardians hardly ever mentor other guardians."

Before I could ask why, she stood and stretched out her hand. I grabbed it and pulled myself up to my feet.

"I think you should go now. It will be daylight soon." She quickly bowed her head to me and I did the same. "Oh, and do come back later. There are others you need to meet." She smiled as she turned away from me and walked into the distance.

I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, I was back in my room.

Lightning cracked and thunder boomed outside.

My knees felt wobbly and fell back onto my bed. I curled into a fetal position and cupped my face with my hands.

_Everything is changing so fast._

A tear fell down my cheek. It wasn't a tear of sorrow or of joy. It was a tear of utter confusion and feeling lost. I didn't know what was going to happen next. Thinking of everything that had happened, I was sure anything was possible at this point.

I thought about what Yue had said about having to leave my family.

I want to be me. I want to be the human Jinora who can live her life like anyone else.

I lay there, talking to myself, as still as stone.

"_Why? Why me? I don't want to leave my family.. I don't want to leave the air temple. I don't want to leave Mom, and I don't want to leave Dad. I don't want to leave Ikki, Meelo, or Rohan. I don't want to abandon them.."_ Tears like diamonds slipped from my eyes. _"I love them, I won't leave them."_

The door creaked open, and a half asleep Meelo slowly and quietly walked in. I had forgotten that my parents room was so close to mine.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned and reached out to me to put his hand over mine.

"What's wrong, Jinora? Did you have a bad dream?" His voice was tired and innocent. He climbed onto my bed and hugged my head as he lay by me. "It's okay. I get bad dreams too, sometimes. But it's alright, they aren't real." He patted my head, then sat back up. "Are you still sad? Don't be sad. Just go back to sleep, everything will be fine." He smiled weakly, then picked up my hand. He lightly kissed it before saying "I love you, sissy," and walked out, gently closing the door behind him.

_"I love you, too,"_ I whispered.

Still in my airbending robes, I drifted off into sleep.

Today dragged on. I was jumpy and anxious, and everyone noticed. When asked about it, I just faked a calm, steady tone and told them that I was fine. They would think I was crazy if I told them what was bothering me.

It was almost time to meet Yue. I collected myself the best I could and went to my room. I breathed out and clenched my necklace. I shut my eyes tight and pictured where we last met, in the meadow of panda lillies.

Just as I thought she would be, she was stranding there waiting for me.

She smiled widely and looked excited. "I'm so glad that you came."

I smiled in return. "Who am I meeting with?"

"You mean you haven't guessed? I'm introducing you do the other guardians, of course!"

An expression of a mix of worry and excitement quickly spread across my face.

"Follow me!" She called, quickly walking toward a giant cream colored stone building. This was the happiest I had ever seen her. There was a huge gray arch in the middle, covered in dark green, twisted vines. She stopped just in front of it and beckoned me to join her.

I ran toward her, and looked inside, then stopped in astonishment and wonder. Before me were people of all ages. People who were all spirits, spirits like me. Some were young like me, and a handful looked very old. Most of them looked to be in their thirties. They all wore necklaces with the same silver chain, but the shapes and colors were different. I saw a dark purple one hanging around a girl's neck who was even younger than I, an amber one around an elder's neck, a blue one around a boy's neck, and an orange one around a lady's neck.

"Wow," I breathed to myself.

"Come, you have a lot of people to meet."

I followed her through the arch and into the huge, lively room. The ground beneath us was grass, and above us there were several squares out of the stone ceiling that let in the moonlight. There were torches and candles all throughout the massive place, and columns covered in twisted vines. In the center was a large brown dining table, which looked as if it could seat a hundred. On top of it were countless dishes and small candles. All of the chairs were full, and there were people crowding all around the room.

"There must be at least two hundred people here!" I exclaimed.

"Two hundred _spirits_, you mean? This is the home of the guardians. Every month, the guardians report anything that could be a threat to the other spirits."

"This is so _amazing_." I found myself absolutely in awe of everything before me.

"Quite. There are exactly seventy-two guardians alive now, counting you, and they are all here."

We stopped in front of a wall with several doorways with a green curtain of cloth that hung from them.

Yue spoke again, "This is where the guardians sleep and rest."

"So, it's their bedrooms?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that."

I heard a high voice behind me.

"Hi! Are you new here?"

I spun around to see a girl with black hair and umber eyes. She was my height, and was wearing a black dress that went down to her knees. Her hair was shorter than mine, and almost reached the top of her shoulders, while her bangs were pushed to the side and fell just over her right eye.

"Hello," I said, trying not to look too cautious. I noticed a bright red gem around her neck. "You're a guardian?"

She nodded her head. "I can see that you are, too!"

I couldn't help but smile. I was so glad to meet someone like me.

She looked me up and down. "So, you're an airbender?"

"Yes, how did you-"

"Your clothes." She pointed at them. "I heard that there is an airbending family in Republic City! You must be part of it!"

"That's right."

Her mouth dropped open. "Wow! So that must mean that you are the avatar's granddaughter!" I nodded and she continued. "I'm a firebender!" She was definitely energetic. She even reminded me of Ikki, though she seemed a little more rough than her. She brought her hand up to her face. "Oh yeah, I forgot!" She stretched out her hand. "My name's Tamako."

Before I could tell her my name, a boy ran in front of Tamako. "Hello! I'm Mayou!" He stretched out his hand just as Tamako did.

"I'm Jinora," I said as I reached out shake his hand.

"So you're new here, huh? I could show you around if you'd like!" He had blue eyes and bright, blonde hair. I noticed a light blue necklace that hung over his dark blue clothes.

"I was gonna do that!" Tamako called from behind him.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me. "Come on!"

I looked back at Yue, who nodded.

With Tamako following, he led me through one of the cloth covered doorways. The room was dark except for a window on the far wall.

He brought his finger up to his lips. _"Shhh!"_

Tamako ran into the room and half-whispered, _"What are you doing in my room!"_

"I'm showing her the hideout!"

_Hideout?_

"What hide-" I couldn't finish my question. Mayou pulled my wrist again and climbed through the window. I did the same and Tamako followed. We were standing in what looked like a flower bed. Mayou stomped the ground with one foot and quickly threw his hands in the air. The ground shifted and a large hole appeared in the soft earth. Tamako slid into the hole. Mayou motioned for me to in. "After you," he said.

I was reluctant, but went in anyway. Mayou followed behind me.

"Here we are!" I heard Tamako yell from across from the dark room.

Tamako swiftly lit the torches that lined the walls and plopped down onto what appeared to be a large cushion. There were three of them. Mayou sat on one beside her. They were all multi-colored and looked as if they were made from different fabrics.

"You can have a seat, Jinora," said Tamako.

I slowly sat down. It was unexpectedly very comfortable.

"Do you like it? Kaeru and I made them together." Her eyes widened as if she didn't mean to say that. "Um, never mind I said that."

"Why? Who's Kaeru?" I raised an eyebrow.

Mayou looked in my direction. "It's nothing, just an old friend we used to have."

_Used to?_

I changed the subject. "So, why did you bring me down here?"

"Well, we had to show our new friend our hideout!" Mayou beamed.

"Yeah, no one knows about it except for us. If our mentors found out, we would be in huge trouble." Tamako said.

"How come?"

Tamako stood. "About a decade ago, a guardian betrayed her own kind. She was power hungry and in exchange for the power she wanted, she gave away vital information on the guardians to other spirits. But the spirits she gave the information to were not the friendly kind. They were evil spirits who used the information against us to gain what they wanted. It eventually became a game of power." She was getting angry, and balled her fists. "We never did anything to her and she betrayed us! She caused the very imbalances we are here to fix. She was the cause of murders, Jinora. She should never be forgiven."

"Calm down, Tamako." Mayou walked to her side.

She sighed. "Anyway, back to the point. After this all happened, the heads of the guardian base decided that an extra eye should be kept on everyone. No exceptions. We are to always have someone else with us wherever we go and the ones like us, the ones that haven't left their families yet, cannot leave the base at all without someone that has fully become a guardian. We always come here so that we can talk without someone else listening. For example, if someone heard me talking about the banished guardian, I would be punished."

"Wow.. I had no idea. I thought you were all so peaceful and free."

Tamako lowered her head and spoke quieter. "There's a lot about the spirit world you have yet to learn."

"I can see that.." turns out the spirit world is more unbalanced than I thought. I guess that's why the guardians are needed. "I'm curious, what was the name of the banished guardian?"

Mayou walked over to me and looked down at me.

"Her name was Tao."

* * *

**For some reason I found this chapter a little harder to write than the others. I just have so many ideas for the story and I have to find ways to put them in.**

**There's probably going to be some confusion on how to pronounce Mayou's name.. It's pronounced my-you. I had to put that in because I fear someone might call him mayo. :S**

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews :) and please tell me what you think about this chapter..**


	6. Chapter 6

After we left the hideout, Mayou, Tamako, and I went back to the lively gathering. I asked them about Tao but they kept quiet and said that now wasn't the time.

_Is the banished guardian really Tao? Did she know I was one, too? Is that why she always acted so weird around me?_

I felt sick as questions swimmed around in my mind.

Tamako pointed to the other end of the room. "There she is!"

_Who?_

I turned my head to see what she was pointing at.

Before us was one of the most beautiful spirits I had ever seen.

Her skin was a translucent white, and you could see visible blue veins that looked like wires that ran through her body. Her hair was white, and her eyes were a gray color. She had slender fingers that were attached to her weak looking hands. Her arms and legs were thin and looked almost fragile. She wore small white robes and her pale abdomen showed. She wasn't wearing a necklace like the rest of us, though. I guessed she didn't need one. Her body had a light blue glow to it. She was elegant and beautiful. She was the head of the guardians.

Mayou and Tamako insisted that I meet her, because she had been waiting on my arrival. They told me to not be nervous and not to be intimidated. I wasn't the slightest.

She gestured toward me. "Jinora, I'm so glad you've finally come. From what I have heard, you will be a fine addition to the guardians." Her voice was strong. "I am Rowena. I oversee all of the guardians here and make the orders. Life here is what you make it. It can either be in your favor, or not. There are some rules, but we aren't too strict. I'm sure you will fit in just fine."

Her gaze turned to Yue.

"After all, you have a great mentor. There shouldn't be any problems."

She smiled warmly. "Welcome, Jinora. From now on, you are a part of our family."

The guardians in the crowd cheered.

"Jinora!" Mayou came running to me. "So what do you think? Of our home, I mean."

_Home!_

Suddenly I felt homesick. I wanted to go back, even though I had only been here for a few hours.

I had a spaced out look on my face, and was staring straight ahead. My voice was soft and quiet. "Why do you call it your home?"

"What do you mean? It_ is_ my home!" He laughed. "And now it's your's too."

"No. No it's not. This place will never be my home.." my voice trailed away, and then I spoke again. "Don't get me wrong. This place is great and what the guardians do is also great.. but I could never call it my home. Because it's not my _real_ home!"

Mayou lowered his voice. "I get what you're saying, Jinora, but sooner or later you're going to have to leave that behind. It isn't your real home. _Here_ is your real home.. and please don't yell, you're attracting attention."

I didn't care who heard me. I yelled even louder. "You don't get it, do you? I've been told that I have to give up my familiar life for something I _just_ found out about! Were you okay with it whenever you found out you were a guardian, too?"

"Well.." he looked away.

"Well what? Are you telling me you were okay with it? How could you just leave your family like that?"

"I've always known." He looked me in the eye. "Rowena is my mother."

Shocked, I took a step backwards. "So you were born into it?"

He slowly nodded.

"But what about your father? Where is he?" I questioned.

He lowered his head. "He died when my mother was pregnant with me. I was always told what a great earthbender he was, and my mother used to tell me stories about him all of the time."

Suddenly, I felt bad for being so hard on him. "Oh.. I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's fine. I would be angry and confused too if I was in your situation."

I sighed and closed my eyes. "It's just so hard to believe. It's all so much to take in all at once."

He placed his hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. We're all here for you."

I looked around. "Hey, where's Tamako?"

Mayou shrugged. "Dunno. But do you wanna go for a walk outside? It's so crammed in here."

I smiled. "Sure."

We waded through the crowds of spirits and came to the arch I entered through earlier.

The moon was full and bright, and provided plenty of light.

Mayou led me to a rock trail, which we began walking down.

I turned to him. "Something's been on my mind since I saw your mother.."

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Well she seemed so.. I don't know how to put this. She didn't seem like the other guardians at all. She didn't look as human as the rest."

Mayou laughed. "Well, she is the head guardian. She succeeded the last head guardian and took their place. When a guardian succeeds the head, they aquire much higher power than any regular guardian could dream of. That's why she has glowing veins, white hair, and pale skin. It's just what happens when the powers are transferred."

"So.. everyone looks like that when they become head?" I was trying to understand.

"Haha, no. But your appearance does become noticeably.. different.. I guess you could say. She told me she had blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes like me, but when she got the power everything changed."

"Pretty complicated stuff," I said, trying to take it in.

"Yeah, even I don't really get why it happens."

Mayou stopped walking, and grabbed my wrist.

"Wha-"

He put a finger up to his lips. "Shh."

I heard heavy hooves pounding the ground in the distance.

"You have to get out of here! Now!" He was urgent.

"Why? What's going on?" I was confused.

"No time to explain! Use your necklace to take you home!"

"But what about you? You have to get out of here, too!"

Without waiting for any protest from him, I grabbed both of his wrists and closed my eyes.

_Home._

The sound of hooves stopped.

I opened my eyes and we were in my room, safe.

Mayou and I were breathing heavily.

I let go of him and sat on the edge of my bed.

"What was that all about?" I asked him.

His voice was grim. "Those were evil spirits disguised as animals. They bring disaster to both of the worlds, and threaten to expose us guardians to the human world."

"Why?"

He sighed. "We don't yet know, actually. It's a mystery what they are and where they come from, but we do know that they aren't friendly. They're cold blooded murderers..." his voice trailed off. "They killed Kaeru." Tears spilled from his eyes. "He was my best friend.."

It hurt to see someone in this much pain. I grabbed his wrist. "Here, sit." I pulled him down to sit by me, and turned to hug him.

"I'm so sorry. No one should have to go through that," I whispered.I drew my arms back from around him. "When did this happen?"

"About a year ago. It was their first attack. They're vicious creatures, and I will make sure they face the same fate as Kaeru did."

After a few moments of silence, I decided it was time we rested.

"Won't your mother be worried?"

Mayou shook his head. "No, she probably won't notice I'm gone. And as for you, they'll just think you decided to go home."

I nodded and pressed my lips together. "Okay. I'll make you a cot."

He shook his head. "No, I might get caught by your family if you did that."

"Then where will you sleep?"

He looked under my bed.

"Here is fine. No one would see me."

"What? Are you kidding? I won't make you sleep under there! It's probably dusty."

He smiled. "No, I insist. But it would be nice if I could get a blanket or two.."

I smiled back at him. "Of course."

I walked over to my dresser and opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a thick wool blanket. I tossed it to him and handed him one of my pillows.

"Thanks."

"No problem," I said, laughing.

I grabbed a green nightgown and changed in the bathroom.

Tired, I climbed into my bed and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"HAAAAPPY BIRTHDAYYYY, JINORA!" Ikki yelled.

I opened my eyes to see Ikki and my mother in my room.

"Happy birthday!" My mom exclaimed. "I can't believe you're already turning twelve!"

_Wait. Today's my birthday?_

How could I forget my own birthday? It is on the summer solstice, after all.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Ikki and Meelo helped make breakfast. It should be done soon, so get ready!" My mom called as she and Ikki walked out, and closed the door behind them.

I reluctantly got out of bed and took off my nightgown. I opened my dresser and pulled out my airbending robes.

I heard Mayou's voice behind me. "Morning, Jin-"

I whipped around, still in my underwear.

_"AH!"_ I threw my nightgown at him.

I forgot about Mayou.

His face turned red. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you were dressing!" He said quickly, and turned around.

I sighed, then laughed. "It's okay. I should've remembered that you were in here."

I pulled on the clothes.

"You can turn back around."

He turned around and walked over to me. "So I hear you're turning twelve today?"

I nodded.

"I turned thirteen a week ago."

I smiled at him. "I think you should go back soon."

His smile faded. "You don't want me around?"

"No, it's not like that. I do want you around, but-" I was interrupted.

"So you _do_ want me around." He smirked. "Then why do you want me gone?"

"I don't 'want you gone.' It's just that people are probably looking for you."

His face fell. "I doubt it."

"What do you mean? You are Rowena's son, after all."

He looked away from me. "Exactly."

"I'm not following you.."

"I'm not very well liked, Jinora. Since my mother is who she is, people think that I will be the one to succeed her solely because I am her son. They think that I have done nothing to deserve the position. That's not the case, though. She even told me herself that I will not take her place." He sighed.

I closed my eyes and breathed out. "I'm sorry, Mayou."

He shook his head. "Don't be. I deal with it everyday."

I opened my eyes.

"You're different."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He laughed softly. "It means exactly what I just said."

I smiled. "So should I take that in a good way or a bad way?"

"You decide," he said, and flashed me a smile.

I drew my hands behind my back. "And you.." I looked to the side, and then back at him. "Are charming."

His cheeks turned a light shade of pink for a few seconds, then it faded.

"Thank you," he said.

"As much as I would love to have you here, it's my birthday and my family expects me to be at the breakfast table any minute now."

"I understand. I guess I will be on my way then."

I waved. "See you later, Mayou."

In the blink of an eye, he was gone, and I was alone.

* * *

"Thanks, guys. It was great," I said after I finished my breakfast.

"I'm glad you liked it. We put a lot into making this," my mom said.

Ikki ran over to me with a small brown box in her hands.

"Jinora! I got you a gift."

My face lit up.

She put the box on the table in front of me, and I cupped it in my hands before slowly opening it. Inside was a blue pearl bracelet. On some of the pearls was a carved letter, and they all spelled out 'Jinora'.

"Thank you so much, Ikki. I love it! How are the pearls blue? Where did you get this?" I turned to face her.

"Gran Gran has secrets to jewelry making," she said, beaming.

Meelo jumped out of his chair. "Me next!" He set a piece of paper in front of me. It was a drawing of our family. We were all smiling, and Oogie was in the background.

I hugged Meelo. "Thank you, Meelo."

My dad handed my an orange box.

I opened it to find a book titled _'The Guardians of the Spirit World.'_

My eyes instantly shot up towards my dad.

My heart skipped a beat.

_Does he know?_

"Your grandfather wrote this. It's a fiction about the spirit world. I saw that you were reading one of his spirit books and might enjoy this one. It's from both your mother and I."

Fiction? So he doesn't know.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed. This book could help me tremendously.

My mother smiled. "Korra has something for you too, but she won't be here until dinner. She's out with Bolin, Mako, and Asami."

I stood. "Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate all of this."

Afterwards, I went to my room. I had to know what was inside this book.


	7. Chapter 7

Before me was information about the guardians that could very much come in handy.

It took up almost my whole day, but I am almost done reading completely through it. I learned that when you become a full-fledged guardian, you gain the ability to bend in the spirit world.

_That's how Tamako and Mayou were able to bend._

I also learned minor things like the customs of the guardians, the rules they follow, and the different ways that they are recruted. Some may be recruited in their dreams, like me, others may be told in person by another guardian, and only a few guardians are born into it, like Mayou.

Most of the information in the book I already about, but it could still be a great help.

_Finished._

I closed the book and set it down on my bed. I fell back onto my bed next to it and sighed.

I circled my temples and closed my eyes.

_This is all so crazy.. but from the looks of it, there isn't a way to just opt out of it all._

I thought about Tao and shot up.

_Could it have really been her? Or just someone with the same name? I don't doubt it could have been her, though.._

My hand bumped the side of the book. Part of the seam on the leather cover opened.

I picked it up and examined it. I noticed something white on the inside of the cover.

_Is that a piece of paper?_

I ripped an inch more of the leather open, and looked inside.

It was a piece paper, and there were writings on it.

I tore it open wide enough to take the paper out.

It was my grandfather's handwriting.

I slowly read the mysterious piece of paper, and what I found out astonished me.

_'...Some guardians possess a very powerful skill. Those guardians can drain the life of anything or anyone at will, but become exhausted afterwards. The results are different every time, and the effects can be devastating. Guardians are only permitted to use this skill when in a dire situation that absolutely requires it. Misuse of this rare skill could result in permanent banishment...'_

I thought back on the time I was with Yue and became so confused and angry I accidently killed all of the koi fish in the pond.

_Do I have this skill? Why wasn't I punished for what I did?_

Still sitting on my bed, I leaned against the wall.

_How many guardians have this ability? Why does it exist at all?_

_Do all of the guardians know of this skill?_

I was stressing myself out with all of the questions I had.

_What if Tao had this skill?_

I had to find Tao, and talk to her. I didn't yet know what to say, but I had to find out if she really was the infamous banished spirit.

I slipped the paper back inside the seam of the cover and put the book in my nightstand.

I quickly walked out into the hall and up the stairs.

I had no clue as to where she could be, so I was going to search every room of every level of the air temple. I asked some acolytes in the library where she was, but they said they hadn't seen her in a while.

I went up the stairs and checked the study. She wasn't there.

I checked the laundry room. She wasn't there, either.

Just when I was about to give up, I heard noise coming from the music room. I ran to the doorway.

Tao was standing by the window, looking down at Republic City. Her hair that was usually put up in a bun was down, and had a red rose in it.

"Lovely view, isn't it?" Tao asked me.

I cautiously walked in, and stayed close to the doorway.

"It is," I said curtly.

She looked back at me from the corner of her eye. "Dear, why are you so uneasy? Is something troubling you?"

"No," I lied.

"Then what's the matter?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to come up here." I tried to look as nonchalant as I could.

Tao slowly shook her head. "Jinora, it's not good to lie. You obviously came up here looking for me." She shifted her gaze back to the city.

"What makes you say that?" I questioned her.

She ignored the question. "That's a pretty necklace you have."

_My necklace!_ I forgot to hide it under my clothes as I normally do.

Her voice was edgy. "I used to have one just like it."

At that moment I _knew_ that she was the banished guardian.

I kept up the conversation anyways. "Oh really? I got this from my birthday. Along with a fiction book written by my grandfather, Avatar Aang." Now I had to make sure it was her. "It's about spirits called guardians."

She didn't tense, or even look this way. "Oh? Sounds like an interesting read. I bet you enjoyed it."

"Yes. I did. It was.. fascinating. Some of them even possessed a special power, except it could only be used in dire situations. Misuse resulted in _permanent_ banishment."

She turned around. Her voice was suddenly light. "Tell me, Jinora, do you love your family?"

_What is she getting at?_

"Yes, very much." I narrowed my eyes.

"It would be such a tragedy if something were to happen to them, wouldn't it?"

I didn't answer her.

"You see, when a guardian is banished, they are stripped of their abilities. But what if a guardian can somehow keep their power?"

_That can't really happen, can it?_

She let out a small laugh. "And what if that guardian also possessed the rare skill? You can only imagine what kind of damage could be done." She sighed. "I was hoping you would be my ally, but it is now clear to me that that is not what you want."

"I would never," I said defiantly.

"This little discovery of yours is going to stay a secret, or I'm afraid your family will have to pay the price."

"You're horrible," I whispered.

She was gone in a flash, right before my eyes.

I had no doubt that she still had her powers.

I knew in the back of my mind that she was planning something terrible, but as far a I knew, I couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

It was finally time for another nighttime visit to the spirit world.

I closed my eyes and grasped my necklace.

When I opened, I was in front of the guardian headquarters.

The air here was muggy and the grass was damp, as if it had just rained.

I walked through the now familiar stone arch. It was quiet compared to how it was last time, and there weren't as many spirits here this time.

"Hey, Jin!" Mayou called from the other side of the large room.

I walked across the room to meet him. "Hey," I said, trying to sound normal. I scoped the room. "Where's Tamako?"

Mayou shrugged and his voice lowered. "She's gone missing. No one knows where she is, but I assume she's just fine."

"Oh."

"There are rumors that she was taken, or that she ran away for good."

"She wouldn't run away, would she?"

He shook his head. "She has always loved it here."

I leaned against the wall. "Then she had to have been taken, right?"

He shook his head again. "I don't think that's very likely. She may be small, but she is the best of her age. She could easily defend herself if put in the situation. I would guess that she will return any time now."

A girl that looked about seven or eight years old approached me. "Rowena's looking for you!" She said with a high voice, and skipped away.

I turned to Mayou, who gave me a nod. "She's in the council room." He pointed to a door. "Just go down that hall, it should be the last door on the left."

"Thanks," I said, and started down the narrow hallway.

_Last door on the left._

I knocked on the thick, wood door.

"Come in," said a voice.

I pushed open the heavy door.

"Please sit." Rowena was sitting at a wooden desk. She pointed to a small chair. She looked at me with her gray eyes.

I did as she told. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Yue will no longer be your mentor." She said carefully.

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"We've run into some.. complications." She set her elbows on her desk, and rested he head on her hands. "She's a very busy spirit, as you already know. I don't think I should make her mentor someone when she already has so much to do. I'm terribly sorry, Jinora. I will find you a new mentor as soon as I can."

Yue always seemed like she was more than capable of mentoring me. There must be another reason, but I didn't want to speak out against the head.

I slowly nodded my head. "Thank you for informing me."

"Welcome, Jinora. You know, I was even considering mentoring you myself."

"I thought guardians didn't mentor each other."

"Not usually, but I'm sure an exception can be made." She smiled. "Yue told me you are very advanced for a new recruit."

_I haven't done anything yet, have I? Except for that incident at the pond._

Rowena straightened up. "I'm afraid that I'm too busy to talk to you more about this, I will look for you later when I have the chance to talk."

I smiled at her. "Okay, thanks."

I stood up and silently walked out of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Two slow months passed.

I was now becoming more comfortable with the other guardians now, and my visits increased to almost every night. They encourage me more and more each time I visit to stay, but the idea of leaving my family just hasn't sunken in yet.

Tamako is still missing. There is no trace of her, and no one has found a clue to where she might be yet. Most are losing hope that she will ever return, but Mayou still believes that she will come back. I only knew her for one day, but still I hope she returns. She was the first to speak to me when I came here.

Tamako and Mayou showed me their hideout when I first visited, but I haven't been to it since then. We don't have a firebender to light the torches now.

I still haven't told anyone about my encounter with Tao. I'm afraid to tell because of what could happen to my family, but I am also afraid of what she will do if I keep quiet. I considered telling Mayou, but him being Rowena's son would have made him feel obliged him to tell her. I don't know what I should do.

Mayou's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, are you gonna eat that?" He pointed to the moon peach in front of me.

"You can have it." I slowly pushed it over to him.

We were sitting at the large table in the center of the main room.

I looked up at Mayou. He had the brightest blonde hair I had ever seen, accompanied by a pair of light blue eyes. I looked down at his clothes and realized that I've rarely ever seen him in a color other than blue. I've also realized something else in this two month period. He reminded me of two people. Bolin and Mako. It's like he's a perfect mix of the two. He knows when to be serious, but he also knows how to have fun.

"You know, one would think that you're a waterbender," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"I mean, you have blue eyes and wear blue almost all of the time. You're necklace is even blue. I never would have guessed that you're an earthbender."

A small smile spread across his face. "I got my looks from my mother. My father was dark haired and tan." He changed the subject. "Anyways, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"For tonight!" He stood up, and his face beamed.

"Uh, what?" I was obviously confused.

He leaned over to face me. "You mean you don't remember? You've forgotten that tonight is your final test?"

I buried my face in my hands. "Oh yeah, right!" I drew my hands back to my sides. "I totally forgot. All that training and I didn't even remember.."

Tonight is the night of my final test. Even after being reminded countless times, it still slipped my mind. Tonight I get to check for spiritual imbalances, and use what I've learned so far to fix them.

"You should be leaving any minute now. Keep in mind, you're going to be watched over the whole time."

I straightened up. "Right. I'll do my best."

A few minutes passed and a deep voice rang across the room. "Jinora, it's time."

It was an official, and one of the highest ranked guardians. Officials were the ones who gave the tests, and decided if you were ready. Heavily built, he had dark skin and a bald head. He didn't have a necklace, all guardians at his skill level no longer have a need for one.

Anxious, I quickly jumped out of my seat and ran over to him.

His voice boomed. "Alright. Are you ready?"

"Definitely," I breathed. I was ready. Two months of training seemed too long, even though it was much shorter than the duration of training most guardians received.

"Then let's get to it!" He placed his hand on my shoulder and we were suddenly standing on top of a hill. Wind blew my hair in all directions. Lightening surged in the distance. The area around me seemed familiar.

_Painfully familiar._

He gave me a nod. "We are at the crossroads between the spirit world and the physical world. You know what to do," he said, and quickly vanished.

_The crossroads._ I remember Rowena and I talking about the crossroads. It was the central portal connecting both of the worlds, that only guardians used.

I inhaled and exhaled slowly a few times, then closed my eyes. I sat on the stone ground, folded my legs, and tucked them under me, with my heels behind. My green necklace glistened as if there were thousands of tiny diamonds trapped inside. I put my hands over my knees and made my breaths as light as I could.

This way I could feel the spiritual disturbances. I could feel them like very tiny electrical shocks in the pit of my stomach. The shocks formed a map in my mind, showing me the exact location of each disturbance, but to my disadvantage, I could not yet tell what the cause was. Rowena hadn't taught me that yet.

As part of my test, I had to choose which challenge to take on, and I chose one that was in the mountains in the outskirts of Republic City.

All I had to do was imagine that I was in that location, and I would be sent there, so I did just that.

The air suddenly became very cold around me. I opened my eyes. I was standing on a snowy cliff that overlooked the city. The ground crunched underneath me as I searched for the problem.

I heard noises behind me.

_Ribbit. Ribbit._

I turned around, only to see several translucent blue frogs quickly hopping in the snow behind me, like they were fleeing from something.

_You have got to be kidding me. I get to prove what I am capable of and I get to deal with frogs?_

I sighed, and scooped the frogs up into my hands.

_You had to have come from somewhere.. but where?_

I began to walk in the direction they were coming from, and found a small cave, with a mouth just big enough so that I could go through it.

_I can't see a thing._

Rowena taught me a trick just a few weeks ago. I remember her words perfectly. '_If you ever find yourself in need of light, touch your necklace, and transfer some of your energy to it. Once you do that, it should provide an excellent source of light for a great amount of time.'_

I couldn't do that now, though. My hands were full.

I decided to walk deeper into the cave, despite the lack of light. To my surprise, the air got warmer as I went further. That means that there must be a great amount of energy in this cave. A portal from the physical world to the spirit world has to be close. But why would there be a portal in here?

The ground under me disappeared, and water engulfed my whole body. I let go of the frogs, who swam downwards, and lightly touched the gem of my necklace. It was like airbending. Like I do with chi, I pushed the energy up to the tip of my fingers. I transferred it to the necklace, and just as Rowena said it would, it produced a light, a lovely glow.

The water was deep and crystal clear, and the frogs were no where to be seen.

Could the portal be somewhere down there?

I came back up for air, then plunged back into the water.

I swam down deeper, looking for anything that might tell me where the portal was. I never was a great swimmer, and I suddenly wished I was a waterbender.

I saw a bright blue glow in the distance, and it was getting closer. As it neared, I realized how big it was. It was at least ten times my size, and it was coming straight towards me.

I thrashed, trying to move out of its way, but I was too slow. I felt something cold and covered in scales collide with me, pushing me backwards into a rock wall. Because of the impact, I let out the breath that I was holding in. Instinctively, I tried to suck in more air, but water filled my lungs. I feebly tried to swim towards the surface, but the spirit crashed into me again. This time it sent me out of the water and onto the rock floor of the cave.

I landed on my back, and wanted to yell out in pain, but all I could do was gasp for air.

The spirit's head came just above the water.

It was a creature that looked very similar to a giant koi fish.

It gazed at me for a few seconds, then went back under.

The cave started to shake and crumble. I crawled to the edge of the water, and looked down into it. The spirit was crashing into the walls, repeatedly.

_It's going to destroy the cave!_

If it continued, the rock would break beneath me and the cave would fall in on itself.

_Why couldn't it have just been the frogs?_

There was nothing else I could do. I had to stop it. I jumped into the water once again.

_I have to remember my training._

I could hear Rowena's voice in the back of my mind. _'Guardians are interesting spirits. We focus on our supernatural abilities like most other spirits do, but what makes us different is our amazing and unbreakable strength and will.'_

I swam over to the giant spirit, and focused on the energy pulsing through its glowing body, despite its desperate thrashing. To make a spirit weaker, I had to take its energy, but not enough to harm it.

In its flailing, it sent me backwards again, but I quickly regained my balance in the unstable water. I tried to not think about the lack of oxygen, and put my hand in front of me, with my palm facing the spirit.

I shut my eyes tight and began to drain its energy.

The process is difficult to explain. First, my energy has to connect with the energy of the spirit. At that point, I can either take the spirits energy, or transfer my energy to the spirit. If I make a mistake while taking its energy, I could end up accidentally giving it mine. Its crucial that I completely focus on the transfer and have no distractions.

I felt warmth run through my body, and I suddenly felt lethargic.

_It worked!_

The spirit stopped slamming into the underwater walls of the cave, and had just enough energy to keep itself from sinking to the bottom.

My vision became hazy and I felt like my lungs were going to explode.

_Air!_

As quickly as I could, I broke through the surface of the water and took in several gasps of air, then I went back under. It was now time to find out where these spirits came from.

I swam all the way to the bottom of the large pool. It was so deep that I would no longer float to the surface. I searched along the rocky bottom, until I found a purple light.

_Is that a glowing hole? Or a portal?_

It certainly did not look like a regular portal. I had never seen something like this. I stuck my hand through.

The other side was also water. I stuck my head through.

I saw hundreds of fish from the spirit world, along with the same kinds of frogs I had found earlier.

It was the spirit world, but it wasn't a portal. Something was definitely wrong here.

A seam between the physical and spirit world had been broken. I had to get the huge spirit through it, and close it as soon as possible.

I came up for air again, and then went back down to find the fish. It was exactly where I had left it.

I had to make it follow me somehow. I rubbed the top of its scaley, yet warm, head.

_I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm here to help. This world is no place for you.. the spirit world is your home. You need to be with your kind, not in a world like this that knows nothing of your existence. I can tell that you must be scared and confused, but don't worry, I can show you the way back._

Its top fin twitched. _I understand._

My eyes grew wide and I was taken aback. _Did I just communicate with it?_

I gave it a simple nod, and slowly started swimming towards the glowing hole that led to the spirit world.

It followed behind me, stopping every few seconds because of its lack of energy. I felt bad for it.

I put my hand in front of me, just as I had done before, and transferred some of the spirits energy back to it. It was now easier for it to follow me. We came to the hole, and I stopped in front of it. I signaled for the fish to swim through, and, slowly, it did.

I was in desperate need of air, and came to the surface. I climbed out of the water and laid down on the rock. I took in slow breaths of air, and was relieved now that the spirit was back in the spirit world. A weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, but I wasn't done yet. I still had to close the hole.

I plunged down yet again into the water. I was now very familiar with the layout and found the hole again with no problem.

I closed my eyes and touched the edges. I willed it to seal shut, and I tried all of the methods Rowena had taught me. None of them worked. With each method I tried, it seemed like there was always something blocking me from getting through to it.

I heard a voice in my head. _You can come back now._

Was it another guardian? One of the guardians who have been watching over me?

_Jinora, you can come back to the guardians now._

I shut my eyes and I smiled in a way that almost made me look delirious, and grasped my necklace.

_Take me back._

When I opened my eyes, I was back with the guardians.

"Jinora! You're soaking wet!" Mayou called from behind me. He draped a towel around my shoulders and tightly hugged me. "That was amazing! There's no doubt that you passed."

The official from earlier walked over to me with a grin on his face. "Well done! Not many guardians would have passed such a difficult task." He looked away. "I did notice something, though.." His voice trailed off. "You couldn't seal it, could you?"

Mayou looked confused beside me. "Seal what?"

I bowed my head. "No, I couldn't. It was as if something was blocking it.."

He nodded. "I think that may be the case. Someone must have opened it themselves. Any spirit could have opened it, but only a guardian has the power to keep it open, and block anyone else from making any changes to it."

"So that means one of the guardians is keeping it open. But why? Guardians can go anywhere they want to. Why would they need an opening between the worlds?"

He sighed. "Puzzling, isn't it? We do not yet know why they would. Unless of course somehow they are not a guardian, but that's impossible." He put his hand on my shoulder. "We've talked enough about this for now. I will let Rowena know." He started to walk off, but stooped in his tracks. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Congratulations, Jinora. You can now proudly call yourself a full-fledged guardian."

I smiled widely. "Thank you!"

Mayou was smiling with me. "We should celebrate, Jin."

"That would be great, but I have to go home now. I've been gone longer than I usually am."

"Right. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" He looked at me with hopeful eyes.

"I'll be here," I promised.

* * *

When I was back home, a certain sadness ate at me while I was trying to sleep.

_I'm going to have to leave this place soon.. never to return. My family will never see me again.. and they will have no clue where I disappeared to. They will be worried sick and endlessly searching for me. Their theories will range from me running away to being kidnapped. I dread that day. I will make the most out of the time I have left with them._

* * *

**Thank you for all of the reviews! It really helps me write faster.**

**Review & tell me what you thought about this chapter please :)**


	9. Chapter 9

It was that time of the night again.

By this point I had become very familiar with the night, the stars and the moon.

I changed into a thin black blouse and matching pants.

I grasped my necklace, closed my eyes, and was transported to the entrance of the guardian's base.

I smiled and walked through the huge stone arch.

"Jin!" Mayou called from across the room when he spotted me. He waved and had a grin on his face. He was always the first to talk to me when I arrived.

I waved back and ran over to him. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him the tightest I could. When I let go, he stumbled before regaining his balance.

He laughed. "What was that for? Someone sure is happy tonight."

I shrugged and laughed with him. "I'm just in a good mood tonight. Besides, you always look like you need a hug."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that so?" He faked a gasp and brought his hand up over his mouth. "Or is it that you have already fallen in love with me?"

I playfully shoved him and smiled. "I wouldn't count on it, Mayou."

He narrowed his electrifying blue eyes at me and smiled back.

Now that I think about it, it wouldn't be hard to fall for him. Along with his deep blue eyes, he had blonde hair that fell just under his ears, and always wore his same trademark grin that would put anyone in a good mood. He had a sculpted jaw line and a lean but strong physique.

"Uh, Jin?" His voice snapped me out of his thoughts.

I quickly shook my head. "Y-yeah?"

"You were staring at me."

"Oh, I didn't realize." I slightly chuckled.

He smirked. "Probably because you were too busy thinking about me. Am I right?"

I tried to hide the blush on my face. "Yeah right. Are you still on that?"

_I'm an idiot._

"I'm only messing with you."

I laughed. "You're quite the character."

After a moment of silence, he changed the subject. "So, can you airbend here yet?"

I sighed. "No, not yet. I haven't exactly figured that out yet."

"That's too bad." He leaned against the stone wall behind us for a few seconds, then jumped back into place. "Maybe I could help you! I know that earthbending and airbending are polar opposites, but maybe it could be helpful."

I thought about it for a minute. "Sure, why not? It's not like we have anything to do today anyway."

He clapped his hands together. "Great!"

"Where to?" I asked.

"I know a place. It's very open, not to mention beautiful."

Without hesitation, he grabbed my hand and we were transported to a large meadow of panda lillies, with large trees scattered throughout.

He let go and my eyes widened.

"What is it?"

My voice was flat. "This is the same place where Yue told me I was a spirit."

"Oh.. do you not enjoy it?"

I plopped down to the ground and leaned on a tree behind me. "Half of the time I absolutely love it.. but in a way I also hate it.." My voice trailed.

His voice softened. "I'm sorry, Jin." He sat down beside me. "If I could do anything to help, you know I would."

I thought about Tao, my family, and how I was changing.

A single tear slid down my cheek and landed on the petal of a panda lily.

"Don't cry." He quickly put his arm around me. I leaned against him.

"I'm fine. I'm just being emotional."

"No, you aren't. You have every right to cry. Suddenly you've been told that you're a spirit, not just a spirit, but a guardian, and you had never even heard of them before. You're having to adapt to the life of a guardian and eventually leave your family."

I spoke in almost a whisper. "I'm just so confused about everything. I'm sad, but I'm also happy. I'm happy that I met you. You're my only friend here, and you always find a way to cheer me up, regardless of the situation. You mean a lot to me."

A crooked smile spread across his face. "Really? I could say the same thing about you too, you know. Without you I would have no one. My own mother doesn't even pay much attention to me."

"I'm sorry.." I turned my head to look at him.

He sighed. "What's it like? To have a real family?"

My expression slightly lifted. "It's different for everyone, but for me.. it's great. They aren't just my family, they are also my friends, and they are there when I need them."

The moon was full, and shining the brightest I had ever seen it. The moon had always seemed brighter here in the spirit world. Mayou looked up towards the night sky. "I've always had to rely on myself. My mother was always- and still is- too busy for me. The last time she told me that she loved me was on my birthday a few months ago. I don't remember the last time she hugged me.. if she ever did. I don't blame her, though. "Though she gets help from the council members, she has to run the whole guardian headquarters. It must be extremely stressful, so I stay out of the way."

I closed my eyes and breathed out. "I always knew that you two weren't close, but I had no idea just how distant you were from each other."

"It's fine, though. Really. It's made me self sufficient." He looked down at me.

I let a small laugh. "You're supposed to be helping me with my bending, and here we are, just sitting and depressing ourselves." I began to stand up, but he grabbed my wrist.

He smiled. "That can wait for another day."

I looked at his hand on my wrist, then at him. "Wh-"

"When is it ever just the two of us? We are always surrounded by other people, and swamped with training and work."

I didn't argue, and sat back down by the tree, leaning against him.

For a while it was quiet, and I could hear his slow, steady breaths. I could hear the wind blowing through the air and rustling the leaves above us.

I broke the silence with a whisper. "Do you think Tamako will ever come back?"

His eyes became clouded. "I don't know anymore. She looked so happy on the outside, but maybe she was suffering on the inside. Maybe she left without the intention of ever returning.." his voice faded.

"Why would she do that?" I asked.

"Many try to run away from the responsibility of being a guardian. Few actually escape." He leaned his head against the trunk of the tree. "There isn't anything we can do except wait and see if she returns." He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

For whatever reason, it felt as if my heart did a small leap at the sight of him.

He put his arm around me just as he had done before. My heart sped up.

_What is he doing?_

Instead of pushing it away, I held it there with both of my hands.

I realized that at this moment, the thing I wanted more than anything was to be here with Mayou.

I thought back on what he said earlier. _'Or is it that you have already fallen in love with me?'_

_Am I really falling for him?_

I felt his voice vibrate through his chest. "We should probably get back now."

I looked down at the lily covered ground. "Oh.. Right."

He slowly stood up, then helped me up off of the ground.

He bent over and picked a panda lily, then leaned close to me and fastened it in my hair. We pulled each other in for a hug, but it was obvious that neither of us wanted to let go. I didn't want to leave the warmth of his body.

He lifted his head and pulled it away from mine, and I did the same. We stood there staring into each others eyes, and when I thought he was going to back away, he brought his face closer to me and touched his lips to mine.

My heart skipped a beat and I closed my eyes. His lips were soft and careful. He held them there for a few seconds longer, then pulled away.

He looked at me with his familiar blue gaze, and held out his hand to me. I slowly took his hand and he touched the blue gem that hung over his old-fashioned blue robes.

* * *

When we were back at the base, I was told by an official to pay Rowena a visit. I didn't know why, but I was a bit worried.

The giant doors were open, so I went ahead into the large council room. There was a long, dark, wooden table in the center that was a smaller version of the one in the main room. The green walls along with the wood in the room gave it an earthy atmosphere. She was an earthbender, after all.

"You wanted to see me?"

She was sitting at her same desk at the end of the room, with her hands under her chin as usual. She straightened up and smiled. "Yes, thank you for coming so quickly." She tapped her desk with her fingers, and looked at me with her gray eyes. Her translucent, glowing skin was noticably duller tonight, as were her eyes.

"Are you okay? You look a little ill." I was careful that the last part didn't sound like an insult.

"I am a little weak today, but don't worry, I will be fine." She slightly tilted her head. "The panda lily is a new touch. It compliments you."

I remembered Mayou putting it in my hair. I recalled the kiss. I blushed and lightly touched the flower with the tip of my fingers. "Thank you."

She looked down at her desk. "There's something you need to know regarding Yue."

_Is she going to finally tell me why she disappeared?_

She sighed and continued, "I told her she could no longer come here. We believe that she might be planning something against the guardians."

I tried to not let my anger get the best of me. "What do you mean 'she might be planning something against the guardians'? Yue would never do anything like that! She's the _moon spirit!_ What would she gain by doing that?"

Rowena uncomfortably shifted in her chair. "We aren't certain of it, but we're just doing what we can to keep everyone here safe."

I shook my head in disbelief. "So why haven't you said a word to me about this before now?"

"We don't want to worry anyone. We want to ensure safety here at the base."

I didn't wait to be excused, and quickly walked out before I said anything that would offend her.

I stormed out of the base and stood by the entrance.

"Jinora!" Mayou ran to catch up with me. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going home for the night." I said bluntly.

"Oh.. okay. But you seemed.. mad. Did my mother say something?" He seemed worried.

"I don't want to talk about it now. I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise."

He nodded, and gave me a short, gentle hug.

I closed my eyes, and pictured my room.

I felt the temperature change around me and heard a startled gasp. I opened my eyes to see Ikki sitting on my bed.

Her eyes widened and she had a scared expression on her face. She pointed at me. "Y-you.. you just.." The words barely escaped her mouth. She opened her mouth as wide as she could as if she was about to yell.

I waved my arms. "No! Ikki, don't!"

She didn't hesitate, and from the top of her lungs, she yelled.

"DADDY!"


	10. Chapter 10

"DADDY!"  
"No, Ikki! Don't!" I shook my head vigorously.  
Ikki didn't stop shouting. Out of impulse I lunged toward her and covered her mouth, knocking her off of my bed, sending us both falling to the floor and hitting the wall.  
"Ikki, please!" I exclaimed in a whisper. "You can't tell anyone about this!" I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was afraid. "Don't be scared."  
My hand muffled her words, so I uncovered her mouth. She shrunk back as much as she could against the wall. I could barely hear her as she whispered. "How did you do that?" She looked down at the gem around my neck. "And what's _that?_"  
I looked away from her and bowed my head. "I can't tell you. Just go back to your room. Forget any of this happened." My tone was urgent.  
She shook her head. "Tell me!" She exclaimed loudly. "Tell me or I'll tell Dad!"  
_What would happen if I told her? The guardians have been such a long kept secret, and now someone knows. Surely someone else must have found out by now, but what happened to them? Were they told to stay quiet? No, they would have been too much of a liability. But if she told my dad, that would mean more people knowing about it. There's nothing else I can do. She won't stay quiet, that's for sure. I am going to have to tell her._  
I let in and out a long breath of air. "So you really want to know?" She eagerly nodded. "I don't know if this information will be good for you, but I know you won't just forget about it." I looked her in the eyes. "I.. am a guardian."  
"Huh?" She raised her eyebrows. "What's that?"  
I sighed. "A guardian is a spirit."  
Her eyes widened. "So you're a spirit?" She asked loudly.  
I put my finger up to my lips. "Shh! Yes, I am a spirit."  
Her expression turned mischievous. "No you aren't. I've never even heard of a 'guardian.' Prove it."  
_Prove it, huh? Whatever you say._  
I held my arm out to her. "Grab on to my arm." She nodded slowly and cautiously grabbed it. "What you are about to see cannot be shared with anyone. Got it?" She nodded again and I touched my fingertips to my necklace. "Close your eyes."  
In a flash, we were in the same meadow Mayou and I were in just a while earlier. The moon illuminated the deep red fire lillies. I lightly touched my lips as I remembered the kiss.  
"Okay, now open them."  
She began to say something, but she quickly cut herself off when she opened her eyes and gasped. Her eyes were wide with amazement, and her hand that was still on my arm shook. "Where are we?" She managed to ask.  
I looked down at her and quietly said, "We are in the spirit world."  
Ikki was frozen and her gaze was fixed straight in front of her for a moment. She looked around and took in everything around her. Then out of no where, she let go and sprinted towards a nearby pond. It was surrounded by gray stones and lush with plant life. The clear water was rippled by the orange, red, and white fish.  
"Wow!" She exclaimed in a screech. "Look at all of the fish!" She knelt down close to the water and dipped her fingers in to feel their slick scales.  
I caught up with her and knelt beside her. The gusty wind ruffled her orange nightgown and dark hair.  
"So.. what do you do?" She asked me without looking up.  
I put my finger up to my chin.  
_I shouldn't tell her too much._  
"Well.. I help to balance the physical and spiritual worlds."  
She gasped and stool up. "So you mean, you're like a super hero?" She lifted her arms up.  
"I guess I could be.. In a way.." My voice trailed off.  
She jumped and clapped her hands together. "So what kind of super powers do you have?"  
_Hmm.. Super powers.._  
"As you know, I can teleport. I can go anywhere I want with enough energy. I also have the ability to drain the energy of any living thing."  
She looked at me questioningly. "How do you do that?"  
_How is she taking all of this in so well?_  
I sighed and stood on my feet. "It's something that you wouldn't understand. It's an ability that you have to have yourself to know what's it's like." I looked up at the sky. If we want any sleep at all, we should get back soon. "But I can tell you that I can feel all of the energy pulsing in and around your body. You're always full of it."  
She looked down. "Wow." She said in a whisper. "I never knew."  
"That's because no one is supposed to know." I said bluntly. "No one can know about his. Not even Mom or Dad."  
She gave me a nod and stood silently.  
"Why were you in my room?" I asked Ikki.  
"Your door was open and I saw that you weren't in your bed, so I went into your room and you weren't there either. So I went outside and looked around and couldn't find you. I got worried and decided to stay there and wait for you to come back."  
"Oh.." That was all I could say. This was all because I was too foolish to remember to shut my bedroom door. "We should go back now."  
Ikki stuck our her lower lip. "But Jinora!" She wailed. "We _just _got here!" She tugged on my sleeve with one hand and rubbed her eye with the other.  
I tilted my head. "Maybe we can both come back some other time."  
Ikki yawned and nodded. She was obviously very tired. Knowing what to do, she grabbed my arm and stood close to me. In an instant we were back in my still and silent room. I looked down at her. "Go to your room, Ikki. We both need sleep."  
She let go of my arm and slowly walked out of my room. I heard her footsteps fade in the hallway, then the sliding of her bedroom door.  
I sighed and sat on the edge of my bed.  
_That could have been very bad._

* * *

The next morning I decided to take a walk around the island. The air was very still and growing cold. It was now fall, and the leaves were turning all shades of brown, red, orange, and yellow. They fell from the trees and crunched under my feet as I made my way back into the air temple. I stopped in my tracks when I entered through the door and heard high pitched giggling. I heard the footsteps of someone skipping and turned into the hallway. I saw the shadow of a girl. It was a silhouette of a girl in a dress. I followed the shadow along the the length of the hallway until it disappeared into the light of a window.  
I heard the giggle again and the sound of someone quickly running up the stairs. I turned around another corner and climbed up the same stairs. Now on the second floor, I no longer heard any footsteps or giggling. I looked across the hall, but no one was there. I slowly walked to the end, and out of the corner of my eye, saw a dark haired girl.  
"Who are you?" I asked out loud. She quickly turned the corner. I followed her, and found a pale girl about my age in a black, knee length dress. She sat on the floor with her head bowed over her knees. Her black hair spilled over her legs. She clutched something that was glowing red.  
"Who are you?" I asked again, in a whisper. I kneeled down to her level. She seemed so familiar.  
She spoke with a light, childish voice. "You mean, you don't know?" She raised her head, but her hair covered her face. "You've already forgotten me? Has Mayou, too?" She pushed her hair to the side and revealed her umber eyes.  
My heart stopped.  
"Tamako!" I yelled. "Where did you go to?" I couldn't decide if I was happy and relieved, or angry that she left everyone without saying a word.  
She released her grasp and a broken, red guardian necklace fell to the floor. "I had to leave," she said quietly. There was something off about her.  
"Your necklace! You can't take it off!" I reached down to grab it, but it was hot to the touch and burned my fingers. I let out a shout of pain and quickly drew my hand back. I looked down at her hands and realized that they were burnt to the point of scarring. She must have been holding it for a while.  
She looked up at me weakly, with no expression. "It's cursed."  
"Cursed? How is it cursed? What do you mean?" I spat the words out of my mouth as I grasped my burnt hand with the other.  
She spoke blankly, with no emotion. "I broke it, Jinora. Then, I cursed it."  
I raised my eyebrows. "But, how did-"  
"I don't need it. So I took it off and broke it."  
_She doesn't need it? Only those who are powerful enough don't have a need for it._  
Her expression dramatically changed and she threw her head back in laughter.  
"You aren't making any sense!" I yelled at Tamako.  
"And why is that?" She managed to ask despite her laughter.  
"Are you mad?" I started to back away, but she put her hands on my shoulders and pulled me close to her.  
"No," she said as her expression, once again, changed. "How could you say that?" Her voice was quiet again. "Stay here, Jinora." She smoothed the back of her hand along my cheek. "With me."  
I tore away from her and stood on my feet. "You have definitely gone mad!" I shouted at her.  
She obnoxiously laughed again, and I ran downstairs to my room to think.  
_Should I be leaving her there like that? This is not how I remember her at all. What happened to her? She's completely crazy!_  
As soon as night falls, I have to report this.


End file.
